TRNSMT: Festivalling while pregnant

In another life, in what seems like the distant past, I was a wannabe music journo with a passion for all things music, mud and memories made in fields. Live music was, and still is to an extent, my drug of choice and nobody could keep me from pushing down the front with my fist in the air.

Fast forward a few years, and although the music journalist part didn’t work out, I still try to get out to see bands at least once a month. Not one for wanting to completely change my life just because I’m pregnant, I’ve still been going to gigs and things as I normally would. Many of the tickets were booked well in advance of little coffee bean even uttering a heartbeat, and I had been looking forward to them all for very different reasons.

One thing I hadn’t really planned on, however, was festivalling whilst pregnant. TRNSMT festival launched this year as a sort of replacement for T in the Park, only it was in the middle of Glasgow and with no camping. With many artists on the bill I love and more I’d love to see live, the other half and I snapped up tickets as soon as they went on sale. However, as July rolled around, we were a bit more apprehensive of what spending 2 days at a festival meant for someone almost 7 months pregnant.

Here’s the main things I took away from the experience:

If it’s sunny, you’re onto a winner
The Scottish weather is as predictable as the lottery numbers, so July doesn’t always mean sun. The Saturday of TRNSMT was warm and sunny, which importantly meant the grass was up for grabs when the old legs needed a break from walking for 2. The Sunday on the other hand was a washout, with no guaranteed dry seats, not even in the toilets.

People are generally good, and respect the bump
Once people saw the bump, they tended to be respectful and warn their pals not to push past me. Others even let me skip the toilet queue because of said bump – result!

By the disabled platform is a good place to hang out
We have a friend in a wheelchair who spent the weekend at the main stage disabled platform, so there was some logic in going there to start with. There were a few nooks around the platform which enabled us not only to get close and chat to our friend, but also step slightly out of the main crowd and avoid the forward rushing for headliners like Kasabian.

Strangers (mostly mums) will want to touch your belly and give you advice
Being very obviously pregnant is a surefire conversation starter in public, and a few people did come up to me over the weekend asking if I was expecting (not sure what the alternative would have been – tanned too many ciders too quickly?). Other mums with a day off also liked to strike up conversations involving touching bump and how good it is to have a day off to come to these things.

The urge to run into the crowd doesn’t go away
For me, nothing beats getting into the music, whether that means jumping around, dancing or getting lost in the crowd. The most difficult thing all weekend was to fight that urge to get lost in the throng of tipsy music lovers.

It was a fantastic experience to be able to go to the first ever TRNSMT festival in Glasgow, and one I’m glad bump got to experience too (got to get them started on the good music young, right?!). There were some advantages like not spending half the day in the bar queue and kind souls allowing me to skip the loo queue, but I can’t wait for my next festival to include the staple pint in hand and ability to rush closer to my favourite bands as I please.